Bruce Stebbins

Ethics questions swirl around the chairman of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission as the panel inches closer to issuing casino licenses. The head gaming industry regulator is now a defendant in a lawsuit by a major casino company

Caesars Entertainment filed a federal court lawsuit this week accusing Massachusetts Gaming Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby of discrimination against the company so as to boost a rival casino development where a former business associate of the chairman stands to profit.

The five member Massachusetts Gaming Commission is now in place. The commissioners will draft regulations to establish a new casino gambling industry in Massachusetts and award the much coveted licenses for resort casinos. One member of the new commission is from western Massachusetts. Bruce Stebbins is a Springfield resident, a former member of the city council, and a small business development specialist. He spoke recently with WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill.